Walking Safely Is a Fundamental Right: Why India’s Cities Must Put Pedestrians First

Walking Safely Is a Fundamental Right: Why India‘s Cities Must Put Pedestrians First

KAKALI DAS

When the Supreme Court of India recently observed that the right to walk safely on footpaths is a part of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, many people found the statement surprising. At first glance, it may even sound unnecessary. After all, walking is one of the simplest and most natural things we do every day. It is something we rarely stop to think about. But if something as basic as walking has reached the country’s highest court, perhaps it reflects a much larger problem that has quietly become a part of everyday life.

Think about the last time you stepped out of your home on foot. How long did it take before you had to leave the footpath? Perhaps it was broken. Maybe it was occupied by parked motorcycles, construction material, piles of garbage, or temporary shops. Or perhaps there was no footpath at all, forcing you to walk alongside speeding traffic. For millions of Indians, this is not an unusual experience. It is what walking looks like every single day.

The Supreme Court’s observation has once again drawn attention to an issue that has been ignored for far too long. Safe footpaths are not simply about making our walks comfortable. They are about protecting lives, ensuring equal access to public spaces, strengthening public transport, improving public health, and creating cities that place people before vehicles.

For many of us, walking is associated with leisure. We take an evening stroll, walk to a nearby café, visit the local grocery store, or try to complete our daily fitness goals. However, for millions of Indians, walking is not a choice. It is the only affordable and practical way to travel.

Domestic workers, students, construction labourers, delivery workers, street vendors, sanitation workers, security guards, and countless others depend on walking every single day. They walk to work, to schools and colleges, to hospitals, bus stops, railway stations, markets, and government offices. According to available estimates, walking accounts for nearly 23 percent of all trips made in India, making it the single largest mode of transport in the country. More than 45 million people walk to work every day.

Despite these numbers, pedestrians continue to receive the least attention in urban planning. Cities continue to spend thousands of crores on wider roads, flyovers, and infrastructure for motor vehicles, while footpaths often remain broken, narrow, encroached upon, or completely absent. As a result, people who walk are forced to adjust to unsafe conditions instead of being provided with safe public spaces.

Poor pedestrian infrastructure affects far more than daily convenience. It quietly shapes people’s lives and opportunities.

Imagine an elderly person who wants to visit a nearby temple, park, or market. If the footpath is uneven, damaged, or blocked, even a short walk becomes difficult and risky. Many elderly citizens eventually stop walking altogether because they fear falling.

Parents face similar concerns. Walking to school should be one of the safest parts of a child’s day. Instead, broken footpaths, speeding traffic, and unsafe road crossings force many parents to drop their children by vehicle, adding to congestion while reducing children’s independence and physical activity.

Women are affected in different ways. For many women, especially those who do not own personal vehicles, walking remains the primary mode of transport. Poor lighting, isolated stretches, and unsafe streets often make them avoid travelling after dark. Some even choose workplaces closer to home because longer walks feel unsafe. In this way, poor pedestrian infrastructure silently limits employment opportunities and freedom of movement.

Walking is also the foundation of every public transport journey. Whether someone takes a bus, a train, or a metro, every journey begins and ends with a walk. If reaching a bus stop or railway station feels unsafe or inconvenient, many people naturally shift to motorcycles or private cars. This increases traffic congestion, fuel consumption, and air pollution.

The issue is equally important from a road safety perspective. Government data shows that one in every five people killed in road accidents in India is a pedestrian. Every such death is a reminder that roads are not only dangerous for drivers but also for people who simply wish to walk safely from one place to another.

Walking is also one of the simplest solutions to climate change. It produces no emissions, consumes no fuel, and creates no air pollution. Every short trip made on foot instead of by a motor vehicle helps reduce carbon emissions. However, when cities fail to provide safe footpaths, people naturally stop walking. Even short distances that could easily be covered on foot are travelled by motorcycles, auto rickshaws, or cars, increasing pollution and traffic.

Unfortunately, the experience of walking in most Indian cities has become increasingly difficult. Whether it is Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, or Guwahati, pedestrians often struggle to find continuous, safe, and accessible footpaths. Roads have expanded to accommodate more vehicles, but the needs of people who walk have largely been overlooked.

In Assam, the situation is equally concerning.

In Guwahati, a simple walk often becomes an exercise in avoiding obstacles rather than enjoying a safe journey. Footpaths in many parts of the city are either missing, damaged, or occupied by parked vehicles, utility poles, construction debris, or temporary structures. Busy stretches such as GS Road, Zoo Road, Bhangagarh, Pan Bazaar, Fancy Bazaar, Paltan Bazaar, Ulubari, and Maligaon witness thousands of pedestrians every day, yet continuous and accessible footpaths remain a challenge.

During the monsoon, the situation becomes even more difficult. Heavy rainfall often leads to waterlogged streets, making damaged pavements slippery and hiding potholes beneath stagnant water. Pedestrians are forced onto busy roads where they must compete with fast moving vehicles. For elderly citizens, children, and persons with disabilities, even a short walk can become physically exhausting and dangerous.

The problem becomes especially visible around schools, hospitals, markets, and transport hubs where pedestrian movement is naturally high. Thousands of people walk every day around Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, Pan Bazaar, Paltan Bazaar, the ASTC bus terminus, and Guwahati Railway Station. Yet many of these areas still lack continuous footpaths, safe pedestrian crossings, or traffic signals that give people enough time to cross busy roads. As traffic continues to increase, walking has become one of the most vulnerable ways to travel in the city.

The same concerns are gradually emerging across other towns in Assam. Rapid urbanisation in Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Nagaon, Tinsukia, Tezpur, and North Lakhimpur has brought wider roads and increasing numbers of vehicles. However, pedestrian infrastructure has not kept pace with this growth. Footpaths are often poorly maintained or disappear altogether, leaving pedestrians with little option but to share roads with fast moving traffic.

Ironically, Assam has always been a state where walking is an essential part of everyday life. Students walk to schools and colleges, commuters walk to bus stops and railway stations, people walk to markets, places of worship, ferry ghats, and government offices, while thousands of workers still depend entirely on walking for their daily commute. Despite this reality, pedestrians remain among the least prioritised road users.

The challenges do not end there. Even where footpaths exist, they are often too narrow for two people to walk comfortably side by side. Broken paving stones, open drains, exposed cables, uneven surfaces, and missing slabs make every step uncertain. In many places, motorcycles are parked directly on the pavement, forcing pedestrians back onto the road.

Street vendors also occupy many footpaths, particularly in busy commercial areas. However, the issue is not the presence of vendors themselves. Street vending is an important source of livelihood for thousands of families and forms an essential part of India’s urban economy. The real problem is that our public spaces are rarely designed to accommodate both pedestrians and vendors. With thoughtful planning and wider footpaths, both can coexist safely without forcing people onto the road.

One of the biggest questions is why this situation exists in the first place. If walking is the largest mode of transport in India, why have our cities failed to provide safe spaces for pedestrians?

The answer lies in the way Indian cities have developed over the past few decades. As urban areas expanded, development came to be measured by wider roads, bigger flyovers, and faster traffic. The focus shifted towards moving more vehicles rather than making cities more accessible for people. Owning a private vehicle gradually became a symbol of progress, and road planning followed the same mindset. Pedestrian infrastructure was treated as an afterthought rather than an essential public service.

This approach has created a strange contradiction. Nearly one quarter of all trips in India are still made on foot, yet people who walk receive the smallest share of investment in urban transport. According to available studies, among 126 Indian cities, only 22 have non motorised transport infrastructure covering more than one quarter of their road network. This means that in most cities, people who walk or cycle continue to struggle with poor infrastructure every day.

The good news is that change is possible, and some Indian cities have already shown what thoughtful planning can achieve. Bengaluru has introduced wider and more continuous footpaths in several neighbourhoods and has also proposed an Active Mobility Bill that seeks to prioritise people who walk and cycle. Chennai has redesigned parts of Khader Nawaz Khan Road into a pedestrian friendly commercial street where people, rather than vehicles, are given greater importance. Pune has also improved footpaths on roads such as Fergusson College Road and JungliMaharaj Road, demonstrating that streets can become safer and more comfortable when pedestrians are considered during planning.

These examples show that creating walkable cities is not an impossible dream. It simply requires political will, careful planning, and the recognition that roads are public spaces meant for everyone.

Assam too has an opportunity to rethink the future of its cities. Guwahati is expanding rapidly, with new residential colonies, commercial complexes, educational institutions, and transport corridors being developed every year. As the city grows, it must avoid repeating the mistakes made elsewhere. Building wider roads alone cannot solve problems of mobility if people still cannot walk safely to schools, hospitals, markets, bus stops, or railway stations.

Improving pedestrian infrastructure does not always require massive investments. Well maintained footpaths, proper drainage, ramps for persons with disabilities, safe zebra crossings, functioning pedestrian signals, better street lighting, and strict action against illegal parking on pavements can make an enormous difference. Trees planted along footpaths can also provide shade, making walking more comfortable during the hot summer months while improving the city’s environment.

Designing streets for pedestrians also benefits local businesses. People who walk are more likely to stop at neighbourhood shops, cafés, bookstores, and local markets than those driving through quickly. Busy and accessible streets encourage economic activity while creating vibrant public spaces where communities can interact.

Safe walking infrastructure is equally important from a public health perspective. Walking is one of the simplest forms of physical activity. It reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and several lifestyle related illnesses. Encouraging people to walk more can improve public health while reducing healthcare costs in the long run.

There is also a strong environmental argument. India has committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building more sustainable cities. While electric vehicles and cleaner fuels are important, the most environmentally friendly journey is often the one that does not require a motor vehicle at all. Every safe footpath encourages people to walk short distances instead of using fuel powered transport. Thousands of such small decisions, repeated every day, can significantly reduce pollution and improve air quality.

The Supreme Court’s observation therefore goes far beyond the question of footpaths. It recognises that safe mobility is closely connected with the constitutional right to live with dignity. A city where people cannot walk safely cannot truly claim to be inclusive or equitable.

However, judicial observations alone cannot transform cities. Real change requires coordinated action from governments, urban planners, engineers, municipal authorities, traffic police, architects, and citizens themselves. Governments must allocate adequate resources for pedestrian infrastructure, but citizens also have responsibilities. Footpaths should not be treated as parking spaces or dumping grounds. Public infrastructure can only remain functional when it is respected and properly maintained.

Perhaps the biggest change that is needed is in the way society thinks about walking. For far too long, walking has been viewed as something people do only because they cannot afford a vehicle. This perception is deeply flawed. Across the world, some of the most liveable cities actively encourage people to walk because it creates healthier communities, cleaner air, safer streets, and stronger local economies.

Walking should not be seen as a sign of economic limitation. It should be recognised as a basic human activity that deserves safety, comfort, and dignity.

As India continues to urbanise, millions more people will move into cities over the coming decades. The choices made today will shape the future of urban life for generations. Cities that prioritise pedestrians will become healthier, safer, more inclusive, and more resilient to climate change. Those that continue to prioritise only motor vehicles may find themselves facing worsening congestion, pollution, road accidents, and declining quality of life.

For Assam, this conversation is particularly timely. Guwahati is emerging as one of the fastest growing cities in the Northeast and serves as the gateway to the region. The decisions taken today about road design, public transport, and pedestrian infrastructure will determine whether the city becomes more liveable or more difficult to navigate in the years ahead. Other towns across the state also have an opportunity to plan differently before rapid urban growth creates problems that become expensive and difficult to fix.

The Supreme Court has started an important national conversation. It has reminded us that footpaths are not merely strips of concrete along the side of a road. They are public spaces that connect people to schools, hospitals, workplaces, markets, parks, and each other. They make cities more accessible, more equal, and more humane.

Ultimately, the strength of a city should not be measured only by the number of flyovers it builds or the speed at which traffic moves. It should also be measured by something much simpler. Can a child walk safely to school? Can an elderly person cross the road without fear? Can a woman return home after sunset feeling secure? Can a person with a disability move independently through the city?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then the city is truly serving its people. If not, then no amount of modern infrastructure can compensate for what is missing.

Walking is one of the oldest and most natural forms of movement. Ensuring that every citizen can do so safely is not a privilege or a luxury. It is a fundamental right, and one that deserves far greater attention as India builds the cities of tomorrow.

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